Almost 50 years ago to the days that Gen. George Everette “Bud” Day and Master Sgt. John T. Anderson II were released from prisoner-of-war camps in North Vietnam, the two Vietnam veterans were posthumously honored at the Niagara County Courthouse.
As part of Thursday’s ceremony, pictures and brief biographies of the two men were set up. The displays will stay in place at the courthouse until March 31.
Robert Hull, president of the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter #268, spoke to the crowd about the two veterans and their lives.
Day was born in February of 1925 and served in World War II and Korea as a fighter pilot. Norm Pearson, a fellow Vietnam veteran, said he knew Day in the 1960s while he was an air advisor at the Niagara Falls Air Base and he was “a good man.”
Day was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1976 by President Gerald Ford and is buried in the National Cemetery in Pensacola, Florida. He died on July 27, 2013.
The late U.S. Sen. John McCain said Day was “the bravest man I ever knew, and his fierce resistance and resolute leadership set the example for us in prison of how to return home with honor.”
Day was remembered on Thursday for the time he served his country as a POW. He spent five years and three months in captivity and was released on March 14, 1973. Following his release, he continued his law practice and wrote the book, ‘Returned With Honor.” He was also known for bringing a lawsuit against the U.S. Army that eventually gave retired veterans health care through Tricare by Congressional decree.
Day also adopted four children with his wife Doris.
State Sen. Rob Ortt, also a veteran, reacted to the lives of the two men.
